The hyperloop route would connect Cleveland and Chicago, allowing travelers to get between cities in just 28 minutes. NOACA would share the cost of the feasibility study with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, the private company that wants to build a hyperloop system throughout the region.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies worked alongside a bipartisan group of congressional representatives from several states including, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin sent a formal letter to President Donald Trump requesting infrastructure funding support to develop the system.

“Regulations are the ultimate barrier for Hyperloop implementation, and we are excited to build the first real public-private partnership to bring Hyperloop travel to the US,” said Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of HTT. “With this agreement, we welcome innovative and industry-leading partners in both government and industry to our movement.”

“We came here because places like Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh have the manufacturing, the raw materials and the talented, hard working people in order to make it happen,” said Andrea La Mendola Chief Global Operations Officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. “We can source everything from this area. This is a place where you make big things.”